Maryland LLC Annual Report Late Fee: What You Need to Know
Maryland LLCs must file their annual personal property return by April 15 with a $300 fee. Missing this deadline triggers penalties and can lead to administrative dissolution.
Maryland LLC annual reports are due April 15. Missing the deadline adds a No flat late fee. SDAT charges an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days the return is late late fee with a None. SDAT bills the penalty rather than collecting it up front, and instructs filers not to prepay any anticipated penalty grace period. See details below.
How to cure a late Maryland annual report, and what the state charges for missing it. Source: Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation.
Ready to file your annual report?
Go directly to the Maryland Secretary of State portal.
No flat late fee. SDAT charges an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days the return is late
⏱
grace period
None. SDAT bills the penalty rather than collecting it up front, and instructs filers not to prepay any anticipated penalty
🚨
dissolution timeline
An entity that fails to file receives estimated assessments at twice the estimated value of the personal property owned, and forfeits its right to do business
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
Stage 1
After the April 15 deadline
SDAT charges an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days the return is late. SDAT bills for it and instructs filers not to prepay.
✓ Fix:Yes. File the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1) with its $300 fee; SDAT bills any penalty separately.
Stage 2
Continued failure to file
The entity receives estimated assessments at twice the estimated value of the personal property owned, and forfeits its Maryland charter or its right to do business in Maryland.
✓ Fix:Yes. File the overdue Form 1 and Articles of Reinstatement, which cost $100 ($50 more to expedite).
How to Fix It: Step-by-Step
1
File the Overdue Annual Personal Property Return
Complete and submit your LLC's personal property return through the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation online portal at dat.maryland.gov or by mail
2
Pay All Outstanding Fees and Interest
Pay the $300 filing fee. SDAT bills any late penalty separately, at 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days late, and instructs filers not to prepay it
3
Request Reinstatement (If Dissolved)
If your LLC's charter was forfeited, file Articles of Reinstatement with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, which cost $100 ($50 more to expedite). Maryland LLC filings go to SDAT, not the Secretary of State
4
Obtain Certificate of Good Standing
After compliance, request an updated Certificate of Good Standing from SDAT, which costs $20, to verify your LLC's active status
🚨 Reinstatement After Dissolution
Reinstatement Possible?
Yes
How Long Allowed
The filing office has not published a reinstatement deadline that we have been able to verify; confirm your entity's status with it before applying.
Reinstatement Fee
Articles of Reinstatement cost $100, plus $50 to expedite
What You Lose During Dissolution
Good standing, and with it the certificate of good standing that banks, lenders and licensing bodies ask for. The LLC continues to exist for winding up, so this does not by itself void the liability shield, but the company cannot carry on ordinary business and its name protection is at risk until it is reinstated.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because the penalty for missing a deadline can be administrative dissolution of the company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Maryland charges no flat late fee. In SDAT's own words, "an entity which files an annual return postmarked after the due date of April 15th, will receive an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest at the rate of two percent of the initial penalty amount for each 30 days or part thereof that the return is late." Because the penalty is a percentage of the county assessment rather than of the filing fee, there is no single dollar figure that applies to every LLC, and SDAT instructs filers not to prepay any anticipated penalty. It bills for it. What is fixed is the filing itself: the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1) costs $300 and is due April 15. More critically, an entity that fails to file receives estimated assessments at twice the estimated value of the personal property owned, and forfeits its right to do business. File Form 1 with SDAT through Maryland Business Express to restore compliance.
First-year note: SDAT allows a 60-day extension, which moves the due date to June 15. Md. Tax-Property § 14-704(c) requires the request electronically on or before April 15, or by paper document on or before March 15. SDAT does not state a separate first-year rule on the form.
Yes, Maryland allows reinstatement after a forfeited charter through the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT). To reinstate, file Articles of Reinstatement, which cost $100 ($50 more to expedite), and pay all delinquent annual report fees plus the penalty SDAT bills, the current year's $300 annual report fee, and a reinstatement fee. If your dissolution occurred after the annual report deadline, you'll owe penalties for each missed year. This process restores your LLC's legal status and liability protection retroactively, meaning you're protected from personal liability for business debts incurred during the dissolution period. Submit your Articles of Reinstatement and payment to SDAT promptly; We have not verified whether Maryland sets a fixed reinstatement window, so confirm your entity's status with SDAT before applying.
Yes, Maryland's administrative dissolution directly eliminates your LLC's liability protection. The Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return is due April 15 each year. An entity that fails to file receives estimated assessments at twice the estimated value of the personal property owned, and continued failure to file leads to forfeiture of the entity's right to do business. During this dissolution period. Which can last weeks or months. The entity loses its authority to do business until the charter is restored. This means creditors can pursue your personal assets. The dissolution also invalidates any contracts your LLC entered into, creating significant legal exposure. To restore protection, you must file the overdue Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1), whose fee is $300, and submit a reinstatement application. Maryland charges no flat late fee: SDAT assesses an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days the return is late, and it instructs filers not to prepay any anticipated penalty. The reinstatement process takes 5 to 10 business days. Contact the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation immediately if your LLC is dissolved to file these documents and restore your liability protection without further delay.
You can verify your Maryland LLC's good standing status through the State Department of Assessments and Taxation's business search at dat.maryland.gov. Maryland LLC filings go to SDAT, not the Secretary of State. This free tool displays your current filing status, including whether your annual report is current or delinquent. For official documentation, required by banks, lenders, and business partners. Request a Certificate of Good Standing directly from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) for $20. Processing typically takes 1 to 2 business days. If your LLC appears delinquent because the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1) was not filed by April 15, you owe the $300 filing fee, and SDAT bills a penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days late. An approved 60-day extension moves the due date to June 15. Checking your status promptly prevents complications when securing financing or entering contracts. Visit SDAT's website today to verify your filing status and determine what fees you owe.
No. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) applies the late penalty by formula, not by discretion: an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest of two percent of that penalty for each 30 days the return is late.
You can minimize the total by filing immediately, because the interest component grows with each 30-day period the return stays late. SDAT also instructs filers not to prepay any anticipated penalty, so do not try to estimate and remit it yourself; SDAT bills you.
Your practical option is prompt filing of the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1) submitted directly to SDAT.
File your overdue report today through the Maryland Business Express portal to stop interest accumulation immediately.
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Maryland sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.
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Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
